MATTS Dissertation

Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies

University of Warwick
2016-17

How to write a translation commentary

NB: MATWCD students writing a dissertation should consult their own programme
handbook and make sure that they defer to MATWCD guidelines where necessary.

The MATTS dissertation can take two forms; both are sustained research
projects.

1) The dissertation can be of the more conventional variety, where the

student undertakes research into an area of translation theory and
practice and argues a thesis, supporting it with evidence. Possible
areas of study include comparative stylistics with respect to
translation, translation theory, case studies, evaluation of existing
translations and any other areas approved by the MATTS Convenor.
The seminar series Introduction to Research Methods in Term 1
provides preparation for the writing of a conventional dissertation.

2) The dissertation can also take the form of a piece of critical writing
(the commentary) informed by the student’s own literary translation
into English; the translation will be included in the body of the
dissertation and will count towards the word limit (see the MATTS
Handbook for word limits and the proportion of translation to
commentary). The overall shape of the piece of work should still be
that of a conventional dissertation, i.e. the dissertation should begin
by introducing and justifying the translation project, providing any
necessary contextualisation for the reader. The translation should be
included in the body of the dissertation at an appropriate point. The
dissertation must not fall into two halves (i.e. it should not place the
translation first and follow it with the commentary) as the reader
then has no sense of what sort of translation has been done and why:
the aim of the commentary is to affect how the translation is read.
Just as will be the case in the conventional dissertation, the order of
the text, which includes the positioning of the translation, should be
shaped by the argument being made. A special session for MATTS

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MATTS Dissertation
Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies
University of Warwick
2016-17

students on the “translation with commentary” dissertation will form

part of the Introduction to Research Methods seminar series in Term
1.

How to write a translation commentary

Choosing the text for translation

Choose the text for translation wisely, i.e. not at random. Your text should
serve to illustrate a particular argument:

The basics

1) Why are you translating or re-translating this text?

The answer to this question should be informed by the answers to the

following questions, and should be less subjective than “I liked it” …

2) Where does the text come from and where is it going? Who are you
addressing?

Do you, as Spivak argues should be the case, have “a tough sense of the
specific terrain of the original” (1993:188)? In other words, do you have
sense of where this text slots into its source culture? Of its position in the
home literature? Have you, as Venuti argues should be the case, engaged
with “the cultural conditions of the translating” (2011:247)? Have you
thought about what it means to transplant this text at this moment? Or
what it means to re-translate this text at this particular time? Who will its
audience be? How will it shape the target culture’s perception of the source
culture and its literature? When addressing the reader, please bear in mind
that your readers may include people with and without knowledge of your
source language. You should have a sense of how this will affect your
approach.

3) What were your priorities when translating this text?

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MATTS Dissertation
Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies
University of Warwick
2016-17

Fidelity to the source? In what way? The creation of a ‘successful’ target

text? Considerations of audience? Creative self-expression?
Experimentation? Revolution? Were you motivated humanistically and/or
ideologically?

What a translation commentary (for our purposes) should NOT be

It is not a commentary in the Classicist or Nabokovian mode, i.e. it should

not be comprised of notes on or annotations to a text. There is an important
role for this type of commentary, but it is not appropriate for the context of
your module final papers and dissertations.

It should not be a chronological/biographical narrative of translating a text,

i.e. the shape of the commentary should not be determined by the order of
the text but rather by your argument(s).

It should not apply translation theory, since one cannot apply a theory (a
theory, whether of translation or of any other phenomenon, can be tested
and can influence practice, but cannot be straightforwardly applied).

What a translation commentary (for our purposes) should be

The link between the translation and the commentary, i.e. how far the
translation bears out what is said in the commentary, will be central to the
success of this piece of work.

‫مكونات الكوينتري‬
The commentary should do the following:

- it should contain an argument or a set of arguments that are

illustrated by the translation;
- it should address relevant issues of translation theory and practice;
- it should open up the process of theoretically informed reflection that
lies behind the creation of a translation product.

Any piece of academic work benefits from a clear introduction that holds
the reader’s hand somewhat. In your commentary, a good, basic

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MATTS Dissertation
Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies
University of Warwick
2016-17

introduction to the text, author and context will set things up nicely. This
should precede the translation. Additionally, please bear the following
points in mind:

-
- ‫خطوات تساعد من اجل إنشاء قضية والمناقشة عليها‬
- Illustrate your arguments/points with specific textual examples;
- Engage with the literary criticism on your text/author/the genre.
This will inevitably raise issues that will influence your thinking;
- There is always something (and usually quite a lot) to be said about
style and its translation (cf. Boase-Beier 2006, 2011).

‫وترجمته (راجع‬
Practicalities

- It is helpful to include line numbers in your translation for ease of

reference in the commentary.
- Sub-headings may prove useful in signposting changes of topic.
- Do make sure that your scholarly apparatus (in-text referencing,
bibliography, footnotes or endnotes) conforms to the system that you
have chosen or that has been prescribed by your
department/programme, whether this is MLA, MHRA, Harvard or
something else again. Download the relevant style guide and/or
access it online and follow it to the letter. Do not mix-and-match
referencing systems! It is imperative that your referencing is
flawless: this is standard academic practice and helps avoid the risk
of being accused of plagiarism, an offence with very serious
consequences. Please read the section on plagiarism in the MATTS
Handbook carefully.
- Gloss or Source texts and any supplementary materials that do not
belong to your word count should go in an appendix, which should be
clearly labelled as such.
- Do make sure that your dissertation is the right length. Dissertations
that are too short or too long are subject to a penal

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‫‪MATTS Dissertation‬‬
‫‪Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies‬‬
‫‪University of Warwick‬‬
‫‪2016-17‬‬

‫توضيح حججك ‪ /‬نقاطك بأمثلة نصية محددة ؛ ‪-‬‬

‫االنخراط في النقد األدبي على النص ‪ /‬المؤلف ‪ /‬النوع‪ .‬سيؤدي هذا حت ًما إلى ‪-‬‬
‫إثارة قضايا ستؤثر على تفكيرك ؛‬
‫هناك دائ ًما شيء (وعادة ما يكون الكثير ج ًدا) يمكن قوله عن األسلوب ‪-‬‬
‫‪ Boase-‬وترجمته (راجع‬

‫قضايا متنوعة‬

‫‪ -in other words, there must be a reason for using the text in question‬‬
‫‪to say whatever you want to say in the dissertation, and that reason‬‬
‫‪must be clear.‬‬
‫‪ your dissertation‬‬
‫‪ provide a literal translation for all foreign-language citations ; do not‬‬
‫‪assume that the examiners can read your source language.‬‬

‫‪-‬عدم الكتابة كا سرد – فقط اذكر المشكلة في األمثلة وكيف طريقة حلها باالستراتجية المناسبة ‪1.‬‬

‫‪- I‬يفض عدم استخدام‪ 0‬دائما ً إال اذا كانت في بعض الحاالت الضرورية‪2‬‬

‫؛ ‪3--‬‬ ‫توضيح حججك ‪ /‬نقاطك بأمثلة نصية محددة‬

‫االنخراط في النقد األدبي على النص ‪ /‬المؤلف ‪ /‬النوع‪ .‬سيؤدي هذا حت ًما ‪4-‬‬
‫إلى إثارة قضايا ستؤثر على تفكيرك ؛‬
‫هناك دائ ًما شيء (وعادة ما يكون الكثير ج ًدا) يمكن قوله عن األسلوب ‪5-‬‬
‫والترجمة‬

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MATTS Dissertation
Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies
University of Warwick
2016-17

‫االطروحة‬dissertation